Spurs throw in the towel and a fifth missile

How quickly the atmosphere at Tottenham has changed. Just over a fortnight ago, on the eve of the Worthington Cup final, the club was buzzing with optimism and talk of the Uefa Cup. This morning their European hopes and their season are as good as over.

A bad afternoon for Spurs was compounded by the behaviour of one of their fans, who hit a referee's assistant with a 50p coin during the second half. The Football Association will await the referee Andy D'Urso's report before deciding whether to take action, but it is sure to be concerned that this is the fifth time Tottenham supporters have been involved in missile incidents this season.

One of those came during the first leg of the Worthington Cup semi-final between these teams at Stamford Bridge, when coins were thrown at Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. For Chelsea this resounding victory was sweet revenge for the humiliation they suffered here in the second leg of that tie in January.

"I think everyone knew we wanted revenge," said Eidur Gudjohnsen, who scored two of his side's goals, and the delight of Chelsea's fans was understandable.

Chelsea's head coach Claudio Ranieri was more reserved in his judgments but will know this impressive display has kept at bay talk about his job prospects.

"I think it was important for us after the 5-1," said the Italian, whose side pick up from Spurs the Guardian's baton on the road to Cardiff. "I don't know how many times I have watched the video of that match. Everything was fantastic for Tottenham. Every touch was fantastic, every shot a goal."

That victory seemed to represent the moment Glenn Hoddle's revolution clicked into gear, yet this was a sobering come-down. It will hurt all the more for coming so soon after the Worthington Cup defeat by Blackburn. Hoddle had been desperate to qualify for Europe to attract better players and speed his rebuilding job. That looks almost impossible via the league.

"I'm disappointed with the way we have given away the goals and the fact that we have been knocked out," the manager said.

The commitment of both sides boiled over at times to produce seven yellow cards and the dismissal of Graeme le Saux for two other bookings. Le Saux's dreadful tackle on Mauricio Taricco, which brought his red card, is understood to have followed verbal provocation by the Argentine.

"I think the match was very hard from the start to the end," Ranieri said. "If the red card was right, a lot of players should have gone off before Graeme le Saux. [Tim] Sherwood played very hard from the start to the end and nothing happened."

Spurs have promised to take action against the fan who struck the assistant referee Alan Green."We will find the culprit and he will be banned for life," said their vice-chairman David Buchler. "Under no circumstances can you condone behaviour where people throw things on to the pitch."